OMAHA — The marriage two years ago of a pair of like-missioned Nebraska nonprofits has now gone to another level.

The organization previously known as Immigrant Legal Center + Refugee Empowerment Center announced Tuesday that it has a new name.

It will be called the Center for Immigrant & Refugee Advancement, or CIRA.

The name signifies a commitment to guiding and advancing the newcomers served by more than 100 full-time staff members that include multiple lawyers. Erik Omar, executive director, emphasized the word “advancement.”

“That really applies to everything we do for the immigrant/refugee community — help them advance their positions here in the community,” Omar said.

The 2022 merger happened after the refugee center’s executive director left and leadership at the immigrant center took on its management and operations. For more than 25 years, the entities individually had helped thousands of immigrants and refugees advance toward their goals.

The thought then was to keep both names as a placeholder, Omar said.

The new CIRA brand will be on full display Sept. 29 at the organization’s 10th annual Food Truck World Tour fundraiser at 3 p.m. on the Metropolitan Community College campus at 32nd Street and Sorenson Parkway, he said. The event features vendors and cuisines from around the world.

Proceeds will go to support the agency’s legal representation of foreign-born clients, refugee services and social work programs. All services are free to clients, the organization said.

CIRA operates in 10 different offices stretching from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, to Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Omar said the organization even engaged translators to make sure the CIRA acronym was not a misuse of any language.

“It was important to us to invest our time into forming a new name and brand that both represents the journeys of immigrants and refugees and also communicates the expertise and compassion of our more than 100 team members who ensure they are welcomed, settled and able to build a life of their choosing,” said CIRA board chair Mike McMeekin.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/new-name-announced-for-ne-organizati...